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munich trip report -- part 1

Would you believe it? We had a classic flat tire on the way out to the airport.
Fortunately, DH changed the tire in less than 5 minutes flat, and I was on time
for my first class upgrade all the way to...Memphis.

At MEM, D. and I were offered the chance to get bumped for $750 apiece, but D.
didn't want to take a chance on screwing up our hotel reservation, so we didn't
take it. Arriving on-time in Munich, we quickly located the train and zipped
through the snow-blanketed countryside. A trio of deer pricked up their ears
as they watched the train pass. A flock of geese ignored us.

It was early evening by the time we located our hotel, but we found
the energy to stroll along the street until we stumbled into an Italian restaurant,
where we tried two kinds of vegetarian pizzas that went down easily
with the fresh Ayinger beer.

Window-shopping is different here

...I mean really different

Feb. 21, 2005

It snowed all day -- a huge change from New Orleans where it snowed
once in 1989. We bought what we hoped were the right subway tickets
and emerged in the beautiful Odeonplatz area. Much of the day was spent
exploring the Residenz, where the family that basically seemed to own
Bavaria for so many centuries had piled up so much treasure. Words don't
really describe, and they didn't allow flash photography, so I was limited in what
I could capture of the ornate interior. The Ornate Chapel was like
a bedroom-sized jewel-box. In a room just outside the State Bedroom of the
Elector, we found a smaller room called the Chinese cabinet, with
wall hangings "made in Europe around 1700" which featured an
obvious Ring-neck Parakeet. In the room of holy relics, we found everything from
bits of bone to entire hands and skulls -- even a skull that supposedly
belonged to John the Baptist!

The skull of John the Baptist is honored with the kind of luxury the
man of the desert might have eschewed in life

The Treasury with its stunning gems included an entire room devoted to
rock crystal carvings. I sighed over an impressive dragon complete
with stumpy crystal wings and beady ruby eyes. Wouldn't a piece like that
fit in perfectly with Peachfront's collection?

A perfect gift for Peachfront in rock crystal

Afterward we dipped into the mustard yellow Theatinerkirche, c. 1688, with its beautiful
white Italianate interior.

We thought we were still too bloated from the after-effects of jet lag to eat, but
we somehow found room for a delicious beer -- whose name, alas, I forgot to record --
and fish sandwiches at the train station. The bar was actually built into a large
automobile or, perhaps, what just looked like a large automobile.

Feb. 22, 2005

Today we headed for the Marienplatz, where we ascended the tower of the Neue Rathaus
and enjoyed the overview of the snow-covered city. A funny thing about the Neue Rathaus: It
is built to resemble an old Gothic cathedral, but it's really a Neo-Gothic
town hall from the late 1880s or so. We got in place on the square to watch the
famous Glockenspiel, which is a clockwork "tournament" originally designed in the
1300s or so -- can't find the exact date on google
at the moment. I was impressed to realize that in Medieval times, you had
an entire society of easily amused people. It won't replace TV.

The onion domes of the Frauenkirche from the New Town Hall

D. and I sipped a Pauliner "Hefe" beer and split another vegetarian pizza near the
Viktualienmarkt, then checked out Peterskirche (Old St. Peter's), a beautiful restored church
from 1180 (!) with gold-leafed interior and statues. My German is non-existent, but
I got the impression that the gold leaf was, in at least some circumstances, done
over silver. Wow.

St. Mundita in her final resting place

The horror movie buff might be most impressed by Old St. Peter's most notorious
inhabitant, an entire skeleton of St. Mundita or St. Munditia (depends on who you believe)
that is covered with gilt and gems, including two false eyes placed in the skull socket.
I have not had much success in discovering what St. Mundita may have done to merit
the honor of her final resting place, although a couple of references suggest that
she was the saint of single and independent women.

No gold leaf on these near-life sized silver
figures from Peterskirche...yet

Poor D. complained that his toes were now officially frozen from kicking through the snow,
so we decided to spend the rest of the day at the Alte Pinakothek or Old Art Museum. He got
his revenge on me for dragging him through the snow window-shopping by making me climb
some rather brutal stairs.

Death by stairs at the Old Art Museum

We still weren't very hungry -- beer at lunch and jet-lag will leave you feeling very
full indeed -- so we split a rotisserie chicken that was surprisingly tasty. Despite the glittering
shops of designer clothes, Munich was proving much less expensive than we had been told.